Sacred Heart swim team breaks records at state meet

by PATRICK J. NAGY Reporter

Sacred Heart’s Alex Doody swam a school record time in the 200-yard freestyle in 1:57.31 at Friday’s state swim meet at the Erie Community College’s Burt Athletic Center. She lowered the time in finals on Saturday, going 1:55.87, to finish 20th. Photo by John Normile Purchase color photos at www.BeeNews.com
The Sacred Heart girls swimming team continued to break school records at last weekend’s state meet at the Erie Community College Burt Flickinger Center.

Junior Alex Doody set school records in the 100- and 200-yard freestyle and freshman Aleza Epstein set school records in the 50 free and 100 butterfly.

“I could say I was surprised but with those two, I wasn’t,” said Sacred Heart coach Kristy Michalek. “I knew when each of them qualified for four individual events for the state meet, I knew they would pick ones that they liked and figured they would do their best at. They both swam great on both days. To drop times from Friday to Saturday is hard to do and they swam great. They ended the season in the perfect way.”

Williamsville North’s Clare Battaglia went 2:11.87 in the 200 IM at Friday’s state swim prelims on Friday at Erie Community College’s Burt Flickinger Center. She took 12th in finals in 2:10.63.
Doody broke her own school record in the 200 free twice at the state meet, going 1:57.31 in Friday’s prelims and 1:55.87 in Saturday’s finals, placing 20th. She was seeded 35th. Doody set the old school record a week earlier at All-Catholics in 1:58.29.

Doody took 18th in the 100 free in 53.78. She set the old school record at All-Catholics in 53.97. She went 54.05 in prelims. She was seeded 22nd.

Epstein, seeded 26th in the 50 free, swam a personal-best time of 24.53 in prelims, breaking the school record. She took 24.75 in finals to finish 15th overall. Epstein broke the 100 fly school record twice, going 59.25 in prelims and 59.17 in finals, to finish 18th overall.

Williamsville East’s Brenna Woodling took 50th in the 100 backstroke in 1:02.05 in Friday’s state swim prelims. It was Woodling second-fastest time in the event. Woodling also swam a leg on the team’s 400 free relay that finished 15th in a personal-best time of 3:43.49. Photos by John Normile Purchase color photos at www.BeeNews.com
The 200 free relay of Doody, seniors Sarah Mastrandrea and Caroline Niederpruem, and Epstein, in that order, finished ninth in 1:40.80 in finals after taking ninth in prelims in a school record time of 1:40.78. The relay was seeded 16th.

“It was exciting, especially for the two seniors, Sarah and Caroline, to work hard and make the state cut,” said Michalek. “Taking ninth overall in the state totally surprised me. “It was a perfect end to their season.”

Williamsville East

The 400 free relay of sophomores Kendra Mayer, Brenna Woodling and Alyssa Anderson and junior Tori Frustaci took 15th in a personal-best time of 3:43.49.

“For us, that was a phenomenal time,” said East coach Mike Doerfler.

In prelims, the relay went 3:43.81 to tie for 15th. Junior Claire Sucharski is the alternate.

Mayer did not qualify for finals in the 100 free but swam a personal best time of 54.80. She took 37th.

Woodling finished 50th in the 100 back in 1:02.05. It’s the second fastest time ever.

Williamsville North

Junior Clare Battaglia swam a personal-best time of 59.16 in the 100 back prelims. She took 15th in finals in 59.97.

Battaglia finished 12th in the 200 IM in 2:10.63. She went 2:11.87 for 16th in prelims.

“Although she had wanted to go faster, she certainly wasn’t down on herself,” said North coach Doug Cassidy. “She knew she had worked hard all season long setting the tone for us. Her leadership will be a valuable asset heading into next year.”

Battaglia also anchored the 200 free relay that went 28th in 1:42.93. The relay also included junior Kaitlin Walsh, sophomore Morgan Allender, and freshman Katelyn Battaglia.